


the most wonderful time of the year

by katierosefun



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Holidays, Ice Skating, Life Day (Star Wars), Music, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Piano, Reindeer, Snow, Snow Day, Snowball Fight, Snowmen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 13,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27819316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katierosefun/pseuds/katierosefun
Summary: 31 days of pure holiday/winter wholesomeness for the tcw fam. (Snow days, sweaters and scarves, maybe hot chocolate? Maybe dumb decorations and holiday movies and baking? Point is, holiday cheer but make it for our favorite space found family.)[To be updated daily.][Day 31: the TCW fam greet the New Year.]
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala & Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 207
Kudos: 315





	1. snow

Obi-Wan woke up to hearing a sharp gasp.

Which was enough to prompt him awake, his hand nearly crashing into the rock wall. If he hadn’t been a little more alert, that would have made quite the mess on his knuckles—but luckily, he managed to be awake enough to keep himself from doing just that.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan’s voice somehow came out slurred—more slurred than he would have liked, and for a moment, he could just blink at the sudden… _whiteness_ that was outside. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if perhaps he had just seen something wrong…or maybe he had somehow hit his head while he was sleeping (the rocks were hard enough for that), but no, then he saw Anakin standing at the cave mouth.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan repeated. He stood up gingerly, made his way to his young apprentice.

He found Anakin standing stock-still—so still that for a moment, Obi-Wan was worried. That was, until he saw Anakin’s face.

He found wonder: that was the only way to describe it. Pure, gleeful wonder as Anakin stared out at the white before him. At the still-falling white.

“Is this…”

“Snow,” Obi-Wan replied. He looked out and was glad that they were dressed in their longer robes. “This planet _does_ snow time to time…although I hadn’t thought that it would be the season…”

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, his eyes wide. “Can I…”

“It’s perfectly harmless,” Obi-Wan said, and he was a bit confused by the question—but Anakin had lived on a desert planet for almost all his life, after all, so of course, this must be a new phenomenon. To prove his point, he held out his hand. Felt the cold settle onto his palm, the snowflakes melt right into his hand. “See?”

Anakin stared, surprised. And then, tentatively, he held out his hand.

The snow drifted right into Anakin’s palm, and he shivered once.

“Cold?”

Anakin nodded. “But it’s…” He looked at Obi-Wan, wide-eyed. “It’s _wet!_ ”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan replied. “It’s just another form of water.”

Anakin blinked. He turned back to the snow, and after another pause, he stepped out onto the snow. Obi-Wan heard another quiet gasp, and then Anakin held out his hands, his head tilted back as the snow continued drifting down.

“Master,” Anakin whispered, his voice just barely louder than the snow itself. “I think I like snow.”

Obi-Wan watched Anakin for a little while. There was something so incredibly open about his new apprentice, and for a painful moment, Obi-Wan wondered if he had looked the same on his own earlier missions with Qui-Gon.

Anakin laughed now, looking up at the sky with an eagerness that Obi-Wan had only seen a few times after he had left his home.

And then, quietly, quietly, Obi-Wan lifted his hand and called on the Force. Let the snowflakes suddenly swirl around Anakin, and then he heard his Padawan inhale again.

When Anakin turned around, Obi-Wan lowered his hand back to his lap. “I think the snow likes you too,” he said.

When Anakin smiled, Obi-Wan smiled back.


	2. snowball fights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka, Anakin, and the 501st kill some time in the snow.

Ahsoka was bored.

So very incredibly bored.

She knew that everyone else was bored too. Rex had long since given up trying to quiet the rest of the 501st, not that Anakin really minded anyways. Everyone was mostly just tired and cold and ready to be picked up by the shuttle to take them off this stupid planet.

Ahsoka stuffed her hands in her pockets, bounced a little on the edges of her toes. She looked around once, wondering if maybe there was some animal that might come out. Earlier in the mission, she had spotted at least a few foxlike creatures lurking around the white, and she had wanted to play with them.

That was when she realized that she must be _really_ bored if she wanted to play with creatures that might potentially have very sharp teeth and very short tempers.

 _That makes the two of us_ , Ahsoka thought, huffing out a breath. She waited for a moment longer, kicked up some snow. She looked over to her master, who was looking up at the skies.

“I’m never letting him hear the end of this,” Anakin muttered, and Ahsoka at least managed a quick smile at that. She was sure that her master and herself would delight in telling Obi-Wan that he had been _late_.

Ahsoka kicked at the snow again. She had seen snow before, of course. And she didn’t mind it—but she preferred warmer weather anyways. She kicked at the snow again.

She looked around at the men around her. Some of them were doing the same—bored little scuffs of their feet against the snow.

Ahsoka paused. And then, glancing at Rex to make sure he wasn’t looking, she kicked a little snow his way. She quickly looked away when Rex turned her way—she did her best to look innocent, but she could have sworn Rex’s eyes narrowed even through that helmet of his.

Ahsoka kept her hands clasped tightly behind her back, her posture straight. She was wondering when and who she could kick the snow at next when she felt something _smack_ her back.

Ahsoka spun around, this time to find Rex staring solidly ahead.

She patted down the back of her parka—felt the snow there. And even though everyone else remained helmeted, Ahsoka could have sworn she heard some snickers.

Ahsoka bit back a smile of her own. She turned slowly back around, casually swung her hands to her sides.

And then, in a flash, she swept down to the snow, just barely dodging a snowball.

This time, she heard it hit her master.

There were quiet swears and hushes, and Ahsoka looked up to see Anakin’s eyes narrow at his men.

A beat passed.

And then Anakin said, “Seriously?”

“General—”

“Cowards,” Anakin said, and then he swept down next to Ahsoka. “Come on, Snips.”

Ahsoka didn’t bother arguing. She exchanged a giddy grin with him and then they were both up in a flash of blue and white.

Ahsoka got a snowball right at Rex’s shoulder—she got hit in the back again while she was trying to scoop up some more snow. Anakin’s hood fell off to reveal his flushed face and the snow beading his hair. In almost no time at all, the 501st was split up amongst the snowbanks, laughing and shouting as they either hurled or dodged snowballs.

They were laughing so hard that Ahsoka almost didn’t notice the shuttle coming down—and she _did_ see Obi-Wan step out, and she _did_ mean to stop the fun, but…well. She had a snowball fight to finish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	3. snowman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, building a snowman requires assistance.

“That looks nothing like you,” Ahsoka said.

“Shut up.”

“Rude.”

“Not rude, just honest,” Ahsoka said, slipping down from her perch on the tree. Some snow slipped off with her, and Anakin whacked her away to keep the snow from falling on his head. “Relax, I didn’t get you.”

“Think you can do better?” Anakin asked, stepping back for Ahsoka.

Ahsoka looked at the snowman. It was actually rather good, and Anakin had somehow managed to get the snowman’s stick-arm to hold a long icicle in what Ahsoka guessed was an attempt to mimic a lightsaber. And he had grabbed some smaller stones near the iced-over pond that actually were a similar shade to his eyes, perhaps frighteningly slow. And the cocky little smile Anakin made his snowman wear was scarily accurate, though Ahsoka would never admit that to her master, whose ego was probably bigger than it had to be. She contemplated the snowman and turned to Anakin. “Probably,” she said. “Your proportions are all off.”

“How?”

“The head’s too small,” Ahsoka said, and she allows herself one second of watching the realization form on Anakin’s face before skittering away.

“Okay,” he said, snagging her by the parka arm. “You go make one, if you think you’re so special.”

“I’ve got a disadvantage,” Ahsoka said. “You only get to roll around three of those things.” She gestured at the snowman. “I’ve got _these_ to work with.” She pointed at her lekkus. 

“Well,” Anakin said smugly, “I’m sure you’ll manage.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but she turned around and got to work anyways. Rolling snowballs were the easy part, she realized. She managed to get some particularly neat looking snowballs (that were devoid of soil, much to her satisfaction). She trudged over to the tree and snapped off a few thinner branches. Set them in, and then she looked around for things to make eyes with.

She slipped down to the pond, picked out some slightly larger pebbles. They were more grey than blue, but she was willing to work with them. Ahsoka walked back to her snowperson, stuck them resolutely on, and snapped off some smaller branches to mimic her own facial markings.

“See?” Ahsoka called over her shoulder. “I’ve got the bigger job here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Anakin said nonchalantly. “Doesn’t mean yours is better.”

“I think it’s plenty better,” Ahsoka said. She lowered herself back down to the snow, started rolling some smaller snowballs to form her lekkus. This was the trickier part, and the snow kept crumbling whenever she tried to make a shape that _wasn’t_ a ball.

Eventually, she heard Anakin sigh.

“Here, you just gotta…” Anakin walked over to one of the other trees, snapped off an icicle. He handed it to Ahsoka and looked pointedly down at the snowman. “This’ll probably work better.”

Ahsoka looked at Anakin and raised her eyebrows.

“What?” Anakin asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I _am_ the master.”

“And that includes teaching me how to build the perfect snowperson?”

“Maybe,” Anakin said.

Ahsoka snorted, but she stuck on the icicles. They were a little pointier than her actual lekkus, of course, but—

“I kinda like ‘em,” Ahsoka said, standing back with her arms crossed.

“Told you so,” Anakin said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	4. sledding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin has a crazy plan that involves sledding, and of course Rex is involved.

Rex thought that he was used to most of his general’s crazy ideas. He really, really thought he did.

Clearly, he was wrong.

“Are you sure about this, sir?” he asked, looking down at the cliff. Some pebbles unearthed themselves from the snow and skittered down far, far below the ravine. A little way down, he saw another portion of cliff, this one sliding down to where he knew the rest of the 501st would be waiting.

“It’s the fastest way,” Anakin said. He kicked at the fallen piece of debris—what must have been a part of a Seppie ship once. He turned around, shielded his eyes against the bright sun. Rex turned to follow his gaze, but he found nothing except just the incline that they had just basically slid down on the way here.

“Okay,” Anakin said after a moment. “I might have to give us a little push, but it should be mostly safe.”

_Mostly safe?_

“Okay,” Anakin repeated. He grabbed the edge of the debris and dragged it up the incline. “You first.”

“Sir?”

“I have to be the one to push us off,” Anakin replied patiently. “So you’ll have to sit in front. I’ll hop on.”

Rex stared at Anakin, but his general looked as serious as ever.

With a barely restrained sigh, Rex sat down on the debris. Thankfully, it _was_ large enough for the two of them, but the edges were shallow, and Rex found that he could grab the only slightly more inclined part of the debris at the front. But that wasn’t much of a grip, and it most certainly wouldn’t help if they went diving down the ravine. Then again, if it was Anakin Skywalker…

“Great,” Anakin said. “Ready?”

“Yes, General.”

“So enthusiastic,” Anakin said.

“With all due respect sir, I don’t think you’d care if I was enthusiastic either way.”

“Don’t say that, Captain,” Anakin said lightly, “I definitely value your enthusiasm. But we’re still doing this.”

“Afraid you’d say that.”

A laugh from Anakin—and then, without another warning, there was a quick shove, and Rex was holding on for dear life as he slid down the incline. He just barely held in a cry as he got closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, and then—

He felt Anakin settle in behind him, and then a triumphant shout as they surged off the edge of the cliff.

Even with his helmet on, Rex could feel the cold air that rushed up to greet them. He couldn’t help himself this time: he screamed as they toppled down—no, not toppling down, but _sledding_ straight at a diagonal towards the other cliff, and then—

They crashed onto the edge of the opposite cliff, and then they were speeding down, snow rushing up from the sides of their makeshift sled. Rex clung on, steered the best he could as particularly lumpy snowbanks rushed up their way. He was dully aware of Anakin laughing, and then he heard something else—and Rex realized suddenly that _oh,_ he was laughing too, which he hadn’t expected, but—

“Anyone told you that you’re crazy, General?” Rex shouted over his shoulder.

“Only the good ones!” Anakin shouted gleefully.

Rex risked a look backwards, found Anakin grinning at him.

Rex shook his head and looked front again—but he let himself laugh with the general all the way down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	5. ice-skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Padme go ice-skating for the first time together.

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait—”

“It’s okay,” Ahsoka said, offering her hand to the senator. “You’re doing fine.”

Padmé smiled sheepishly at Ahsoka. “I must look silly,” she said, nodding to some of the children on the other side of the lake. “Even they’re able to get on.”

“If my mission of the day is to make sure you ice-skate better than a toddler, then I will gladly take up that task,” Ahsoka said seriously. Padmé let out a small laugh, and Ahsoka tugged again. “Can we go now?”

“Yes,” Padmé said, standing up. “But _careful_ —”

“Of course,” Ahsoka replied, and the two slid down the ice. Ahsoka felt Padmé’s grip tighten, but then, after another moment, the senator sighed in relief. Ahsoka cast an amused side-glance at her, and, catching it, Padmé smiled again.

“Just say it,” she said. “I promise I won’t be offended.”

Ahsoka grinned. “I wasn’t going to say anything offensive,” she said. “But I _am_ a little surprised why the senator of a literal lake planet would never have gone ice-skating before.”

“Naboo’s warm all year round,” Padmé replied. “The waters never freeze over.” Her grip tightened on Ahsoka’s hand as they just barely picked up the pace. “And I’ve never truly had reason to ice-skate until now.”

“Until now,” Ahsoka agreed. She guided them closer to the center of the ice. “But look—you’re doing fine.” She let go of Padmé’s hand, and she half-expected the senator to shout after her, but then again, Padmé was, as Ahsoka more surely knew, a quick learner.

Padmé inhaled sharply, but then she was skating towards the center. Her arms were extended just slightly, and she still mostly looked uncomfortable, but—she turned around and smiled nervously at Ahsoka. “How’s my form, Master Tano?”

Ahsoka laughed at the title. “You’re doing _perfectly_ ,” she replied. She skated next to Padmé. “Just keep your head up. If you keep looking down, it’ll throw you off-balance.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Ahsoka grinned again. She spun around on her skates so that she’d just be a little way from Padmé. After a few seconds of watching Padmé skate successfully, Ahsoka asked, “Do you think we could speed up a little now?”

“Are you trying to compete?” Padmé asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Of course not,” Ahsoka said nonchalantly. “ _But_ …” She tapped Padmé’s arm and dove. “You’re it!”

“There’s only two of us!”

“And you’re it!”

Ahsoka heard Padmé say something—but then she called, “Remember what I said about being a quick learner!”

And the two sped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	6. snowed in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka are snowed in.

Anakin guessed that things could be worse. Really, things could be much, _much_ worse, but that didn’t mean that he still didn’t hate that they were stuck in the middle of nowhere.

“Sit down, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said wearily. “You’re making everyone dizzy.”

“How?” Anakin asked on his…he didn’t even know how many times he’d lapped the room. He had lost count after twelve. “ _I’m_ not dizzy, and I’m the one doing the actual walking.”

“You’re making me dizzy,” Ahsoka said, her voice slightly muffled. She was stretched out on the ground, her cloak wrapped around herself like a blanket. She tilted her head back to look at Anakin. “And I was _sleeping_.”

Anakin paused. “Sorry.”

“Does that mean you’ll stop pacing now?”

Anakin sighed. He sat down across from Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. “I just can’t believe we’re stuck here.” He gazed ruefully at the blockage of snow outside. Thankfully, the door itself hadn’t been blocked—the shield had done enough to prevent that—but down the path, there was already a small mountain of snow that Anakin estimated was probably taller than himself. He was glad that the snow had at least stopped. Hopefully, tomorrow morning, the snow would have melted a little too.

“We can’t do anything but wait at this point,” Obi-Wan murmured. He was looking outside too. “We’ll figure something out that way eventually.”

Anakin sighed again. He tilted his head back against the wall and looked at the blockage of snow again. Maybe if he just stared enough at it, the whole thing would melt.

“I thought you liked the snow,” Obi-Wan commented.

“I _do_ ,” Anakin snapped. “I just don’t like it when it’s like _that_.”

“Very specific, well done.”

Anakin scowled. “If you’re just going to make fun of me—”

“We’re not making fun of you,” Ahsoka said, sitting up. She rubbed a hand over her eyes and stretched her arms over her head. “ _But_ …we’d get to morning a lot faster if you just relaxed.”

“I _am_ relaxed—”

“Yes, very,” Obi-Wan said dryly.

At Anakin’s huff, Obi-Wan stood up. “But our Padawan’s right, Anakin. There’s nothing we can do, but the area is perfectly safe. Resting is the only thing we can do from here.”

Anakin looked as his former master settled down next to him. Ahsoka, too, scooted over, albeit on her stomach. She looked ridiculous, and Anakin considered saying something, but instead, he turned to Obi-Wan. “You know you only ever call Ahsoka _our_ Padawan when she’s doing something _you_ agree with?”

“Do I really?” Obi-Wan asked. “Do I, Ahsoka?”

“Not at all, Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka said cheerfully.

“I hate you both,” Anakin said flatly. “I really do.”

“A shame we’re stuck together, then,” Obi-Wan said. He rested his head against the wall. “Now hush, Anakin. Rest.”

“You heard him, Master,” Ahsoka said with a yawn. She rested her hands behind her head and looked sleepily up at Anakin. “We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

Anakin started to say something, but both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan nudged him on the shoulder.

Anakin closed his mouth. “Fine,” he grumbled, closing his eyes. “ _Fine_. But just so you know, if we wake up—”

“ _When_ we wake up—”

“ _When_ we wake up,” Anakin said, “and no one’s come to get us, I’ll be there to say _I told you so_.”

“We look forward to it, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. “Now hush.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, well...maybe I just wanted another group nap. (Also, I feel like while it's a popular headcanon that Obi-Wan doesn't sleep, I also diagnose Anakin Skywalker with the "I do not know how to sleep because brain is too wired" disease.)
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	7. sweaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka finds out that her master discovered ugly sweaters.

Ahsoka thought her master couldn’t surprise her anymore. She had once woken up to find him tinkering at his hand, which he had somehow _conveniently_ forgotten to tell her that _oh, yeah,_ he has a mechanical hand, and _wait, stop screaming, no, I haven’t chopped off my own hand, Snips_ —

And of course, there were the other things that came with being Anakin’s Padawan, like sometimes having to crash (or, no, sorry, crash _land)_ ships, hide under crates to get through enemy ships, and sometimes carry around more babies than Ahsoka thought she would be carrying in a war zone. But for the most part, Ahsoka had gotten used to all the surprises that being Anakin’s Padawan had thrown her over the last year or so.

Still, she had to admit—

“This is a new one,” Ahsoka said, walking on the bridge.

Anakin and Obi-Wan turned around, and Ahsoka snorted. She couldn’t keep it in, and she tried to, but—well. “What are you guys _wearing_?”

“What, you don’t like it?” Anakin asked cheerfully.

“Definitely not,” Ahsoka said, walking towards the two. “It makes my eyes hurt.”

“ _Well_ ,” Obi-Wan said, “it’s actually rather warm.”

“Yeah, but at what _cost_?” Ahsoka asked, side-eyeing the disastrous sweaters. Because that was what they were: horrific red sweaters with the symbol of the Republic knitted in an equally horrific green color. Oh, and of course, the red and green collar…white snowflakes…

“Listen,” Anakin said, “I thought it looked _nice_.”

“And I like it,” Obi-Wan added.

Ahsoka and Anakin both looked at Obi-Wan. Ahsoka didn’t miss the way her master’s expression softened, but Obi-Wan, oblivious, added, “And I believe Anakin’s got a surprise for you, Ahsoka.”

“What?” Ahsoka looked at Anakin. “Master—wait—”

“Yeah!” Anakin’s face brightened. He ducked out of sight, returned with a small box. “You didn’t think I’d forget you, did you?”

“You know…” Ahsoka sighed, taking the box, “I kinda wish you did, at least this time around.”

“Never,” Anakin said cheerfully.

Ahsoka flipped open the box. She looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan, who smiled expectantly at her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ahsoka said as she tugged the sweater out of the box. It was red, too, with the same design as Obi-Wan and Anakin. More snowflakes, if that was possible. She peeked at Obi-Wan and Anakin over the sweater. “Seriously? _Matching?_ You gave us _matching_ sweaters?”

“You gonna wear it?”

Ahsoka sighed. Distantly, she could hear some quiet laughter. She turned sharply to Rex, who was stifling a little laugh behind his fist.

She turned back around to Anakin and Obi-Wan and sighed. “And somehow, _I’m_ the Padawan?” she grumbled, but she tugged the sweater over her head. The sleeves were a little long, and she had to roll them up a little, but besides that—huh. Warmer than she’d expected, just like Obi-Wan had said.

She looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan. “Are you two happy now?”

“Quite,” Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka sighed, but she found that she couldn’t quite keep herself from smiling. “Okay. So now…” She looked up at Rex and Cody, who were still trying very, very hard not to laugh. “Don’t you two even think about it.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Anakin said cheerfully. “They’re getting their own too.”

(Ahsoka kept her sweater on after that.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, this was 10000% inspired by [this lego star wars short](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIm-tsYNHJE). 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	8. fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire is good sometimes.

Ahsoka awoke to hearing soft voices and the dry crackle of…something. Not flimsi, because flimsi crackled louder and in a lower pitch than whatever…

She opened her eyes, and she could just make out shadows and a warm, red glow.

And then she saw a dark, remarkably clear sky above her. Well, not completely clear—there were still stars, so many of them. For a moment, Ahsoka could just stare up at the sky and sleepily wonder if the sky had been that dark when she had fallen asleep.

“She’s awake!”

Ahsoka blinked and turned her head. She quickly made out what had been the source of that crackling sound and the red glow: a fire burned cheerfully in front of her. A big fire too, one that was in its merry peak.

A moment later, she heard other voices, and then she was sitting up to Jesse, Fives, and Echo sitting around her. For a moment, she couldn’t remember what they were all here for, but then she heard something else. Footsteps, and then something warm and heavy dropping around her shoulders.

“Rise and shine, Commander,” Rex said, sitting down next to Ahsoka. “Or…close enough.”

“How long was I out?” Ahsoka asked, shifting under the blanket.

“Not too long,” Rex replied. “Just enough for us to build the fire…and set up the tents…and get dinner…”

“You could have woken me up!” Ahsoka protested, swiveling her head around. Sure enough, the tents were already pitched, and she spun back around to shove at Rex, but the captain just barely scooted himself out of her reach. She looked at Echo, hoping that she could at least appeal to him. “This was supposed to be a _bonding_ exercise!”

“I’m with you, Commander,” Fives chirped. “Team bonding. Absolutely.”

“Which was why _we_ did the tent pitching,” Jesse said, leaning back against what Ahsoka now realized was a log. He settled his hands behind his neck, tilting his head up to the sky. “Apparently gives us a big sense of _accomplishment_ , isn’t that right, sir?”

“Absolutely,” Rex said, and if he had noticed Jesse’s sarcasm, he didn’t show it.

“ _I_ think it’ll be fine,” Echo said, smiling at Ahsoka from across the fire. “You can just make it up in the morning.”

“You _bet_ I will,” Ahsoka mumbled. Then, remembering that she had a blanket around herself, she shoved it off and floated it over to Echo. “ _And_ I don’t need this, thank you very much. Fire’s just fine.”

“Sure about that, kid?” Rex asked, looking pointedly at Ahsoka’s bare arms.

Ahsoka tugged her legs up to herself and, with as much dignity as she could, she said, “Fire’s _fine_ , thank you very much. And I’m not a kid.”

“Mm-hm,” Rex said.

“I’m _not_.”

“Okay, then, not-a-kid,” Rex said, stretching out his legs, “you still feeling cold?”

“I— _no_ ,” Ahsoka said, even though she was, in fact, a little cold.

“Mm-hm,” Rex repeated. He gestured. “Just get closer to the fire. We didn’t build it for nothing, you know.”

Ahsoka stuck out her bottom lip.

Rex lifted an eyebrow at her.

And then, heaving a dramatic sigh, Ahsoka nudged herself closer to the smile, ignoring the snickers that broke out across from her.

“Don’t mean this means anything,” Ahsoka said to Rex a moment later. “I’m gonna show you who’s a kid tomorrow.”

“Looking forward to it, Commander.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pictured this to take place around the beginning of Ahsoka's time as a commander! 
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated.


	9. hot chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan makes hot chocolate.

Anakin threw himself onto the couch. “She’s mad at me,” he groaned.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Obi-Wan murmured, opening the cupboard. He contemplated the selection of mugs, picked out three.

“What do you _mean_ I’m going to have to be more specific?” Anakin asked, lifting his head.

“There are multiple _she_ s you could be referring to,” Obi-Wan answered. He opened the fridge, got out a carton of milk. Then he looked back at the cupboard, frowned. “Where did you put the saucepan?”

“Bottom cupboard,” Anakin replied. “And what do you _mean_ , multiple _she_ s?”

“Well, you’ve either upset Senator Amidala,” Obi-Wan said, ignoring his former apprentice’s protest, “or you could be speaking of—”

The door slid open, and Ahsoka stormed in. Obi-Wan set the saucepan down just as she stomped through their quarters, slammed the door to her own room shut.

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin. “Ah.” He opened the pantry door. “What happened?”

“ _Nothing!_ ”

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin.

“Okay,” Anakin muttered. “So I told her that she can’t fly the speeder this time—”

“Well, she’s young—”

“—because she’s too short.”

Obi-Wan paused. He looked at Anakin again. “Can’t you adjust the—”

“Yeah, I know.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “So you mocked your apprentice’s height,” he said.

“Listen, it was just a _joke_ —”

“It was _not!_ ” Ahsoka’s voice came through the door. “You said it in front of _everyone!_ ”

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin again, who looked guilty. “Well done.”

“Don’t give me that,” Anakin muttered, pushing himself off the couch. “You’re just happy because I made fun of _your_ height that one time—”

“Yes, but at least that time, we were alone,” Obi-Wan mused. He looked down at the saucepan. “Ah. That’s good.”

“What’re you doing anyways?” Anakin asked, walking over to Obi-Wan’s side.

“I sensed there was something wrong with you two,” Obi-Wan replied. He stirred the contents of the saucepan, poured it out in the three mugs. He shoved two mugs at Anakin’s chest and jerked his head to the door. “Now _go_. A peace offering.”

Anakin looked down at the mugs. “Hot chocolate,” he said. “Nice.”

“Which is something you clearly need to be,” Obi-Wan replied pointedly. He shoved Anakin lightly. “Now go apologize to your Padawan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see, apparently obi-wan canonically isn't that great at cooking, but...i think he can at least manage to make hot chocolate without burning down the kitchen. 
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	10. cinnamon rolls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin makes cinnamon rolls.

“You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep eating that,” Anakin said, plucking the bowl of frosting out of Ahsoka’s hands.

“Like you wouldn’t,” Ahsoka replied loftily, but she didn’t take it back, which Anakin took as a good sign. He set the bowl back down on the counter and tossed Ahsoka a towel. “If you’re not gonna do anything else, then at least help me with the dishes.”

“There’s no dishes,” Ahsoka said, though she slid off her stool. “There’s only bowls.”

“Very funny,” Anakin said, pointedly setting a still greasy bowl in Ahsoka’s hands. “Wash.”

Ahsoka sighed, but again, she didn’t complain as she walked over to the sink. There was the splash of water, some hard pumps of dish soap. Anakin busied himself by sorting out the other unwashed bowls, wiping down the brown sugar and cinnamon sprinkled counter. He had just taken thrown out a paper towel of the stuff when Obi-Wan walked into the kitchen.

“There he is,” Anakin said cheerfully. “Feeling any better?”

Obi-Wan sneezed.

“I’ll take that as a no,” Anakin said, passing his former master a tissue.

Obi-Wan took it with a grimace. “I’ll be fine,” he said, though the slight rasp in his voice said otherwise. “Just a cold.” He sneezed again, one that made both Anakin and Ahsoka wince.

“Sit down,” Anakin said, pulling out the stool.

“No need,” Obi-Wan replied, already moving past Anakin. “I just meant to get some water.”

“Well, have you considered—” Anakin was interrupted by the beeping of his alarm. He grinned, looked at Ahsoka. “Well, right on time.”

“Anakin…”

“Nope, sit down,” Anakin said, grabbing the kitchen towels. He tugged open the oven door, tugged out the pan. “Snips—frosting—”

“You got it,” Ahsoka said, handing Anakin the bowl.

Anakin carefully dripped the frosting over the cinnamon rolls and turned around to Obi-Wan. “You should probably eat something.”

Obi-Wan started to shake his head, but Anakin added, “Comfort food. I think you need it most. And _besides_ , Ahsoka and I have been working on these all day.”

“I don’t doubt it, but Anakin—”

“No buts,” Anakin said cheerfully. He grabbed a plate, slipped out a cinnamon roll. He turned around to Obi-Wan and smiled. “They’ll probably taste better when you’re not sick, but…”

Obi-Wan huffed out a breath, but Anakin was relieved when his former master took the plate. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Anakin replied. He passed a plate to Ahsoka. “Just don’t sneeze over my cinnamon rolls.”

“Yes, Anakin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, happy Hanukkah! 
> 
> and also, on a completely unrelated note, taylor swift just announced that she's dropping a new album tonight, and i'm still recovering from folklore, so if you see me screaming on my tumblr, you absolutely did--i know this is not related to the fic at all, but i'm genuinely stunned and need to shout about it again okay that is all 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	11. decorations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Rex decorate for the first time.

“I think I’m doing this wrong.”

Rex turned around. Ahsoka was sitting in the center of the hangers, her fingers tangled in a string of lights. Another string was settled in between her montrals, and the girl looked up at Rex with a sheepish little smile. “I didn’t mean to,” she explained, tugging at the lights pointedly.

“Obviously,” Rex replied. He set down the box of tinsel he was holding and reached for the other end of the lights. He tugged once, but Ahsoka shook her head.

“That’s not helping,” she said, lifting her wrists. “You gotta help me untangle them.”

Rex knelt down next to Ahsoka. “You know,” he said, taking some of the lights, “I figured that Jedi would be better at this stuff.”

Ahsoka looked at him.

“Sorry,” Rex said, biting back a grin. Somehow, he managed to get Ahsoka free of the lights. “Now stop fooling around.”

“I’m _not_ ,” Ahsoka huffed, but Rex noticed that she was careful in picking up the lights. She hoisted the string of lights over her shoulder and nodded at the box of tinsel. “Yours?”

“Who else’s?” Rex asked, picking up the box. He jerked his head down the hanger, and both Ahsoka and he made their way down to the first wall. Once they were satisfied with where they were, both Ahsoka and Rex set down their supplies.

“You know what we’re doing?” Rex asked, picking up a length of tinsel.

“Sure,” Ahsoka replied, untangling the lights. She stepped on a stool, threw the lights up to the wall. “Could you hand me the tape?”

Rex looked down. He found the tape sitting on top of the rest of the lights. Passing it over, he added, “Sure that’ll stick?”

“It’ll stick,” Ahsoka replied confidently.

A moment later, the lights slid to the ground.

Rex looked at Ahsoka. “You were saying?”

Ahsoka huffed out another breath. “Don’t,” she warned, and she scooped down to grab the lights. Rex let out a quiet laugh, bending down to help with the lights.

Together, they climbed up on the stools. Ahsoka held the string of lights; Rex taped it down a little harder than before.

“You ever decorated before?” Ahsoka asked after a little while.

Rex paused. “No,” he said after a while. “Kaminoans weren’t into this kind of thing.”

Ahsoka was quiet. When Rex looked at her, she looked more thoughtful than anything else.

“So is this your first time?” she asked.

Rex stopped again. “I guess so,” he admitted.

Ahsoka’s lips quirked upwards. “Mine too,” she said after a awhile.

Rex and Ahsoka stood back. They had managed to hang enough tinsel and lights so that it wouldn’t fall.

“Well, Commander,” Rex said, holding out a hand. “I think we did a good job, given our first time.”

Ahsoka looked at his hand and, with a grin, shook it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also anyways,,,,i am aware of all the star wars news that came out last night and my brain's too scrabbled to go off anything,,,but yes i also listened to "evermore"...yesterday was such a wild ride that i--(you can find me screaming on tumblr about this but i....huh. yeah. yesterday was a ride. also i've decided "tolerate it" is a sad anakin and obi-wan song goodbye that is all.) 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	12. movies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie night starts with Obi-Wan and Padmé.

Obi-Wan had watched his fair share of holomovies. He actually rather enjoyed them, even the ones that Padmé was showing him now—even though they were, to be quite honest, ridiculously dramatic. But then again, Padmé seemed to know that they were ridiculously dramatic as well, because now they had a running tally between themselves of predictions.

“Of course it’s at the landing dock,” Obi-Wan murmured for what felt like the tenth time that day. (When in actually, it might have only been for the third.) “They only ever seem to make romantic declarations there.”

“I know,” Padmé sighed, passing him the bowl of bang-corn. “Wait for it—he’s going to propose—”

The romantic hero knelt down on a knee.

“Bravo,” Obi-Wan said, passing the bowl of bang-corn back to Padmé. “Any guesses for what he’ll say?”

“ _You complete me_ ,” Padmé said in a husky voice.

“ _You complete me_ ,” the romantic hero said, all wide eyes.

“Bravo yet again,” Obi-Wan said, shaking his head.

“Any guesses what she’ll say? Or do?” Padmé asked.

“Hm…” Obi-Wan examined the couple that was now spinning around on the landing dock. “I think they’ll transition to a Life Day themed wedding…and, ah, see?” Sure enough, the holomovie had transitioned to a scene of bright colors and ridiculously brighter baubles. “They’ll name their children after Life Day creatures, and they’ll run a store specific to Life Day…”

Padmé started laughing as the credits rolled down. “I didn’t think you’d get the gist of them so fast.”

“Remember who you’re talking to,” Obi-Wan said loftily, sneaking more bang-corn from the bowl. “Now, what’s next?”

Padmé tilted her head at the screen. “There’s a movie about a child who defends his home from burglars,” she said. At Obi-Wan’s confused look, she clarified, “His whole family left him on Life Day. By accident.”

“How terrible,” Obi-Wan said. “Let’s watch.”

Padmé’s face lit up as she played the movie.

They had only just gotten to the part when the boy and his brothers had started ruminating about their old neighbor when the door slid open.

“What’re you guys watching?” Ahsoka asked, sliding into the couch between Obi-Wan and Padmé.

“I thought you were supposed to be at the Archives?” Obi-Wan asked, although he shifted to the side to allow his grandpadawan more space.

“I thought you were supposed to be at a Council meeting?” Ahsoka asked, leaning back against the couch.

“I already went,” Obi-Wan replied. He passed Ahsoka a blanket, which she gratefully tugged up to her chin.

“Well then, I already did my work at the Archives,” Ahsoka replied, crossing her legs. “Now ssh, Master Kenobi, I’m trying to watch.”

Obi-Wan smiled. He leaned against the arm of the couch as the rest of the movie played. They got to the part where the boy’s family was rushing around to leave the house when the door opened again.

“What are you guys watching?” Anakin asked, slipping next to Padmé. Then, after a moment, he grinned. “Oh, _this_ movie—just wait until he—”

“Spoilers,” Padmé whispered, hitting Anakin’s arm.

“Ow—okay,” Anakin said, rubbing his arm although Obi-Wan doubted that it actually hurt. “But I’m just saying…” Anakin didn’t bother finishing the sentence because Ahsoka had tossed bang-corn into his mouth.

They resumed the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk, padmé and obi-wan seem like the type to watch movies and both offer criticism but enjoy it anyways. 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	13. lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Padme shows Anakin the lights.

“Don’t look!”

“I’m not looking!” Anakin protested, but still, he lifted a hand to nudge aside Padmé’s fingers. He heard a little cry, and then the hands tightened over his eyes again. “Okay, okay.”

“Just a little longer,” Padmé said. Anakin felt her fingers adjust. He moved to the side with her hands, and then Padmé said, “You have to keep your eyes closed for a little longer so I can open the doors.”

“Trust me?” Anakin asked.

“Anakin!”

“Okay, okay,” Anakin said, closing his eyes. “I’ve got them closed.”

“Do you promise?”

“ _Do_ you trust me?”

“Fine,” Padmé said, and she lowered her hands. Anakin felt her move around him, and a moment later, he felt a warm hand catch his. Tug him closer, and Anakin let himself follow. There was the quiet creak of doors opening, and then Anakin felt a cool breeze brush past.

“Okay,” Padmé whispered. “You can open your eyes now.”

Anakin did.

He had to blink a few times. At first, he wasn’t sure if perhaps it was just from closing his eyes too tight, but now, he registered that no, it wasn’t just his eyes—there were lights all around him. Glowing, small lights lining the railing of the balcony, and beyond, into the rest of Coruscant, Anakin saw more lights flickering on other balconies, in the windows of other apartments. And the lights might not have been surprising, had it not been for the fact that this quarter of the city was otherwise completely dark. Just the yellow, sometimes white lights glowing all around them. In a planet that was almost always wide awake, this one was quiet. And yet still alive, still warm.

“What…”

“You’re never home around this time of year,” Padmé said. “But this time…”

Anakin looked out over the balcony. He could see some other families in the windows far, far off. Standing around the small lights. A candle lit.

“Usually,” Padmé said, walking over to Anakin, “the candles are lit right after sundown. But since you didn’t get here until now…” She gestured down to what Anakin now realized were a set of unlit candles. Four of them were already lit.

“You waited for me?” Anakin asked, looking down at Padmé.

“Of course,” Padmé said. She smiled up at Anakin. “Do this with me?” She gestured to the candles. “We only light one once a night, and if you’re here…” She looked at Anakin. “I wanted to share this with you.”

Anakin smiled. He nodded. “Lead the way,” he said.

She did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Natalie Portman is Jewish, so be default, Padme Amidala is Jewish too. I'll admit that I'm not Jewish myself, but I know that Hanukkah isn't deemed the most religious holiday for Jewish people. However, I also thought it was a bit strange that Star Wars has Life Day, which is meant to mimic Christmas but like...despite the fact that Natalie Portman, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford are Jewish, there's...nothing about Hanukkah in the galaxy far, far away. (And yes, I do realize that there probably wasn't a Jacob and the Maccabees in the galaxy far, far away, but. But. Sh.) 
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	14. music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin teaches Ahsoka how to play the piano.

“I didn’t know you played.”

Anakin startled. And that was something that Anakin didn’t really do, but he hadn’t actually noticed Ahsoka walking up behind him. She slid onto the piano bench next to him and looked down at the keys. “Huh.”

“What?” Anakin asked. He set his hands on the keys, and, smirking at Ahsoka, let himself play the beginnings of a riff. A snippet of a song that was more commonly heard over the channels this time of year.

“Show off,” Ahsoka said, but she looked intrigued. “When did you learn?”

“Not sure,” Anakin replied. He reached across the keys, trilled a few high notes. At that, Ahsoka started laughing. “I’m just a genius, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Ahsoka said. She set her hands on her lap and watched Anakin play for a while. And then, after a moment, she asked, “Are you gonna hog the piano all day or actually try to teach me?”

Anakin paused. He looked at Ahsoka. “You wanna learn?”

“I can,” Ahsoka said, determined.

Anakin grinned. “Okay,” he said. “Well, it’s gonna take longer than a ten minute lesson for you to know how to play _this_ …” He played another part of a different song—this one slow and dramatic, something that made Ahsoka roll her eyes. “Or _this_.” He picked up the pace, switched the key to something major and cheerful.

“But,” Anakin said, setting down his hands, “I think you can get the hang of it.”

“So where do we start?” Ahsoka asked.

“Well…here,” Anakin said. He guided Ahsoka’s hands to the keys. “This is where you always start.” He pressed down on the key. “So this is the _C…_ ”

In another minute, Anakin had introduced the keys, and now Ahsoka went up and down a scale with the eager pace of someone who was just getting ready to move on to the next lesson. “So are you gonna teach me how to play something, Skyguy?”

“Fine, fine,” Anakin said. “Just follow my lead, okay?”

“Aren’t I always?”

Anakin grinned. He started the song, nodded for Ahsoka to follow.

She did—a higher-keyed echo from Anakin’s own playing. In another moment, Anakin started the next part of the song, and Ahsoka followed. Anakin glanced at his Padawan once, saw the look of both concentration and awe on her face as their parts slowly blended together, hands and notes chasing each other’s in a delicate harmony.

And then, suddenly, above it all, Anakin heard a voice quietly humming along.

Ahsoka remained focused on the piano keys, but Anakin looked up to find Obi-Wan walking into the room. He was reading something from a book, and he didn’t quite seem to notice the actual piano, but he drifted past, still humming.

Anakin caught Ahsoka’s little smile, and they kept playing.

Another moment later, more humming—this one gentler, quieter, and this time, Anakin didn’t have to look to know that it was Padmé. She passed Anakin once, set a light hand on his shoulder before she walked on.

Anakin caught Ahsoka’s smile again.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ve got a little concert going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am deciding pianos are a thing. 
> 
> also, this was inspired by [this post!](https://newswcanonprompts.tumblr.com/post/635606940610887680/anakin-playing-the-piano)
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	15. reindeer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan and Ahsoka meet an animal friend.

“Please tell me you know where we are.”

“I would,” Obi-Wan replied, “but I’m afraid I’d be lying.”

Ahsoka sighed, but she kept trudging after Obi-Wan. She ignored the squelch of mud beneath her boots, the slight buzz of insects around her. She didn’t even know why there were bugs still out—the air was cold enough that Ahsoka could see her own breath, but then again, she had been to enough planets that things just always seemed to want to surprise her. Something just always had to be more complicated than it actually was.

And while Ahsoka sometimes _liked_ visiting new planets, this wasn’t exactly an experience she was enjoying, even if she was Obi-Wan, who was generally more level-headed than her own master.

Still, she wished that they knew where they were going.

Ahsoka sighed. Sooner or later, they would find a way back to the base, and then Ahsoka would take the longest shower ever in the refresher. Or a medium-length shower. She just needed a shower, because she was covered in mud and also—

Ahsoka whacked a hand against her neck, but it was too late—the bug had nipped her right below her jaw.

“You’re annoyed,” Obi-Wan commented.

“Not at you, Master Kenobi,” Ahsoka said, rubbing her hand against her leggings. “But with the situation? And the creatures here? A little bit. Aren’t you?”

“Well…” Obi-Wan waved away a bug. “This certainly isn’t my favorite planet.” He paused, looking at a bug that was flying particularly close to him. “And I don’t like the look of those stingers. Careful now.”

Ahsoka dutifully let Obi-Wan lead her away from the bugs. They ducked past some trees until the sound of buzzing faded. Ahsoka rubbed at the itch at her neck again—thankfully, not an actual sting, more likely just another pesky bloodsucker mosquito.

“We’ll find our way out eventually,” Obi-Wan murmured. “Just…”

He suddenly stopped, and Ahsoka promptly bumped against his back.

“What is it?” she asked worriedly. “Did—” She peeked out from behind his back and stopped too. “Oh.”

In front of them was a large, dark animal with four legs. Hooves. Wide, dark eyes stared Ahsoka and Obi-Wan down. And above that—antlers. Big antlers.

“Uh,” Ahsoka started. “Is it friendly?”

“She,” Obi-Wan said.

“What?”

“She’s friendly.” Obi-Wan said. He gestured down to the animal’s neck—and there, Ahsoka noticed a slight band of red, a bell. “And I believe she’s here to help us get back to our friends.”

“Huh.” Ahsoka looked between Obi-Wan and the animal. “If you say so.”

A corner of Obi-Wan’s lips twitched. “Doubting me, young one?”

“Never,” Ahsoka replied. She looked at the animal. It—no, she—huffed a breath in Ahsoka’s direction. Ahsoka grinned. “Okay, then. Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	16. cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka gives Padmé a card.

“So why do you have all these cards anyways?” Ahsoka asked, flipping through the flimsi cards. All of them were ridiculously bright, some of them with ridiculous embellishments, others more minimalistic. She paused at one of the cards and held it up to Padmé. “And I’m pretty sure this one isn’t appropriate.”

“Hm?” Padmé looked up from her own pile of cards and grimaced at the one Ahsoka was holding. “Who’s it from?”

Ahsoka flipped the card open. “No name,” she replied. She cleared her throat and started to read, “ _My dear Senator Amidala, it was a pleasure meeting you at the Charity_ —”

“ _Definitely_ not,” Padmé said, snapping the card shut. “You can throw this one out.”

“Gladly,” Ahsoka said, tossing the card into the trash receptacle. She opened another card—this one brighter, with a picture of a small family pasted on the front. “So…who are these cards from?”

“Constituents,” Padmé replied, smiling at the picture Ahsoka showed her. “Most of them are already given cards back—a default one, but I like to change the messages to show that I’ve at least…looked at their card.”

Ahsoka and Padmé looked at the mass of cards spread out over the living room.

“Must take a while,” Ahsoka commented.

“It’s worth it,” Padmé said matter-of-factly, taking note of a card. “And besides, you’ve already seen that I don’t bother modifying _every_ one of them.”

“True,” Ahsoka said. She folded over some cards, took note of them on the little pad of flimsi that Padmé had given her when she had reached the apartment. While Ahsoka would admit that responding and reading through cards wasn’t exactly how she thought her political lesson with the senator would go, she supposed this was better than sitting through an actual Senate meeting.

Although, Ahsoka realized after her fiftieth card, this was a lonely process. Most of the cards were well-meant, but there were more than a few occasions when Ahsoka read a card that she quietly slipped into the trash receptacle. If Padmé noticed, she didn’t say anything.

“Padmé?” Ahsoka asked after a while.

“Yes?”

“Do you just ever get cards from…friends?” Ahsoka closed the card she was reading from.

Padmé paused. “I suppose so,” she said. “But everyone’s so busy—holiday cards aren’t exactly something people are worried about in wartime.”

Ahsoka looked pointedly to the pile in front of them.

“Well, this is different,” Padmé amended.

Ahsoka shrugged in agreement. But as Padmé continued reading through the cards, Ahsoka took the opportunity to slip out to the refresher. She slipped a pen and a blank card off the pile of cards on the desk and, once she reached the refresher, Ahsoka scribbled a quick message. Her handwriting wasn’t as nearly as neat as those of the people who sent cards to the senator, but…Ahsoka was satisfied.

When she walked out of the refresher, she set the card down in front of Padmé.

“Happy holidays, Senator,” Ahsoka said.

Padmé’s eyes widened briefly—and then, with a soft smile, she took the card. She opened it, and Ahsoka suddenly felt awkward—as one usually would when having their words read in front of them—but when Padmé looked up, Ahsoka found nothing but happiness.

“Thank you,” Padmé said.

Ahsoka smiled. “You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	17. chimneys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin has a plan that involves chimneys.

“This is a terrible idea.”

“Well, do you have any better ones?”

“I have ones that don’t involve us going down a _chimney_ ,” Obi-Wan replied, watching Anakin lean against the bricks. “Haven’t you considered the mess we’d be making?”

“In a Separatist senator’s home? I _hope_ we make a mess,” Anakin said. He leaned away from the chimney and grinned at Obi-Wan, which he didn’t bother returning. Anakin shrugged and looked back down into the chimney. “But if _you_ don’t want to dirty your clothes, that’s fine by me. You’ll just let your poor former Padawan take all the danger for himself—”

“ _Don’t_ do that,” Obi-Wan said, pointing a finger at Anakin. “

“—all by his lonesome, and if he gets caught, what will you—”

“That’s cruel,” Obi-Wan said, making his way to the chimney. He ignored Anakin’s grin as he added, “You are _extremely_ and _unusually_ cruel.”

Anakin only laughed as they settled around the top of the chimney. Obi-Wan shot another annoyed look at his friend who, thankfully, kept quiet this time. With a great sigh, Obi-Wan looked down into the depths of the chimney. “If I hear you complain about how you were scrubbing _coal dust_ out of your hair for a month…”

“You won’t,” Anakin said breezily. “Now, do you wanna go in first, or should I?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I’ll go,” he said, because as annoyed as he was with the situation, he knew that _someone_ had to make sure the coast was clear, and he wasn’t going to let that be Anakin, especially with this terrible plan.

“Just tell me,” Obi-Wan said, swinging a leg over the chimney, “do you do this with your poor captain or Padawan?”

“No,” Anakin replied cheerfully. “I just save the craziest plans for you.”

“How touching.”

“Come on, Master,” Anakin said, leaning against the chimney. “You know I only do it because you’re the only one who can keep up.”

Obi-Wan glanced over at Anakin. He was surprised to find that his former apprentice actually looked genuine, that crooked smirk now turned into the slightest smile.

Obi-Wan paused. “I know,” he said. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He caught Anakin’s smile before he slid down the chimney.


	18. latkes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan learns a new skill. Kind of.

“I don’t think I’m doing this right.”

“No, you’re doing it right.”

The oil spat up from the pan, and Obi-Wan flinched. “You know,” he said, turning to Padmé, “there is a _reason_ why Anakin refuses to let me use the kitchen.”

“Oh, he told me,” Padmé said, leaning against the counter. “But fortunately, I am not Anakin.”

“You mean unfortunately,” Obi-Wan replied, eyeing the spitting oil. “If these end up burnt—”

“You won’t burn them,” Padmé reassured him. She paused. “But you might want to flip them now.”

Obi-Wan shoved the spatula under the latkes and, bracing himself, flipped them over. To his pleasant surprise, they were _not_ , in fact, blackened to a crisp. “Oh.”

“See?” Padmé said, patting Obi-Wan’s back. “You’re doing fine.” She poked at the handle of the spatula. “Just press down on the latkes a bit more, and I think we’ll be good to go.”

“How hard?”

“Not too hard—just gently—yeah, like that—”

The oil sizzled and popped, but this time, Obi-Wan didn’t flinch back. He watched the latkes carefully as Padmé rushed around the kitchen to grab a few paper towels. “Should be good now!”

With that signal, Obi-Wan transferred the latkes to the paper-toweled plate. A moment later, Padmé returned with two separate containers. “Sour cream or applesauce?”

“Is there…a correct answer?” Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not particularly,” Padmé replied. “Although some people might say that sour cream is the _only_ way to go.” She popped open the containers and pushed them towards Obi-Wan. “You’ll have to make your own opinion.”

“Do _you_ have a preference?”

“I said your _own_ opinion!”

After a beat, Padmé said, “I’m more of an applesauce person.”

“Then applesauce it is.”

Padmé grinned, passing him the container. “You’re becoming a better politician by the day, Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan shuddered. “Please take that back.”

“I most certainly won’t.”


	19. bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka listens to the bells.

Ahsoka couldn’t sleep. Then again, she knew that no one else could sleep—this was the kind of thing that always happened before the bombs and blaster fire gave way. So she waited in the dark silence, her hands resting over her grimy knees. Listening instead to the quiet, just barely labored breaths of those around her. In the earlier days, she would sometimes pretend that they were actually just back at a base or a cruiser. But eventually, she realized that it was difficult to block out absolutely everything around her. Like the smell—she could smell the sweat and the ground and the ash that dusted over them all.

“You should be sleeping.”

Ahsoka looked up.

Anakin was sitting across from her, his face streaked with sweat and dirt like everyone else. “Go to sleep,” he said, nodding to Ahsoka. “While you can.”

“I’m not tired,” Ahsoka replied.

“You will be, if you stay up,” Anakin said.

Ahsoka made a noncommittal sound. She lifted her head up to the sky. There was too much smoke for her to see the stars.

“It’s just too quiet,” she said after a while.

Anakin didn’t respond right away. But even before he nodded, Ahsoka knew that her master felt the same way, which was why she said, “Sometimes I think I might fall asleep easier actually _hearing_ things.”

Another small silence. Ahsoka thought she saw Anakin nod again.

“Just close your eyes,” Anakin said. “Sleep will come eventually.”

“Like it does for you?”

Anakin paused. 

But before he answered, a chime split the air. A few of the troopers around Ahsoka jerked awake, but then that chime sounded again—and then another, and another, and Ahsoka and the others came to the realization that the sounds weren’t those of cannon fire, but—

“Are those bells?” Ahsoka asked.

Everyone was quiet.

And there again: the chimes of bells that rang through the air.

Then, quietly, Anakin said, “There’s your noise, Snips. Now go to sleep.”

Ahsoka tilted her head back against the earth. She listened to the breaths around her. And she listened to the bells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	20. storytelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan reads a story.

“There was not a creature stirring, not even a…”

“Mouse!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What’re you doing?” Ahsoka whispered, coming up behind Anakin.

Anakin turned around and, raising a finger to his lips, jerked his head into the classroom. Ahsoka peered inside and, at first, she could just see the small crowd of younglings gathered around in a semi-circle. The shades were drawn, but the rest of the room was lit by holograms of stars and planets. They bumped lazily into one another, lighting up sections of the room and the children along with it.

And sitting in front of the semi-circle of children, legs neatly crossed and book in his hands, was Obi-Wan.

“The children were nestled all snug in their beds…”

Ahsoka grinned, leaning against the doorframe as Anakin and she listened to the children attempt to finish the lines. Obi-Wan, of course, didn’t seem particularly bothered by the interruption. He turned the book over for the children, let them look at the pictures for as long as they needed before continuing with the story.

“I didn’t know he did this,” Ahsoka whispered.

“Neither did I,” Anakin replied.

Ahsoka looked at Anakin. He pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked into the classroom. The younglings all startled, but Anakin just winked at them. He lowered himself to the ground, sitting directly in front of Obi-Wan with the smile-turned-smirk.

Obi-Wan, to his credit, didn’t miss a beat. “How nice of you to join us,” was his only comment before turning the page. “Now, does anyone remember where we are?”

A youngling chimed in with a particular line, and Obi-Wan smiled. “Yes, thank you. Right where we left off…”

Eventually, Anakin turned around. He gestured for Ahsoka.

Ahsoka grinned and, tiptoeing past the younglings, she sat down next to Anakin. A youngling sat up a little straighter, but Ahsoka made a point of lying down on her stomach. There was no point in being formal during a storytelling session.

Eventually, the other younglings relaxed. As Obi-Wan’s voice drifted over them, Ahsoka closed her eyes. The story ended eventually, and Obi-Wan started a new one.

They stayed there like that for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so...apparently james arnold taylor read [how the grinch stole chrimstas as obi-wan kenobi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAX29q-N6II) and corey burton read as cad bane/grinch. (there's this hilarious part where james/obi-wan goes "oh the noise, noise, noise, nOISE--ANAKIN--" which...you know. makes me wonder if like...anakin might have been in the background working or something--
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	21. sweets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin apologize with sweets.

Anakin knew that technically, he should leave Obi-Wan alone. His former master was already in a somewhat sour mood after he had barged into his classroom again, but how was he supposed to know that he was teaching a somewhat important topic to the younglings?

“Everything is important, Anakin _,_ ” Obi-Wan had said wearily. And then Anakin had mentioned something about selective learning, which had earned him a good, long, hard look before Obi-Wan promptly decided that he wasn’t in the mood to entertain Anakin anymore. Which Anakin supposed was fair, but that still stung a little.

So that was why Anakin had decided to offer another peace offering. Small candies and chocolates that he had collected with Ahsoka while roaming the shops earlier that day. The two had sampled enough candies to make their tongues an absurd shade of red-green-purple, but Anakin suspected that he would just have to try to reveal as little of his tongue as possible when he spoke to Obi-Wan.

So Anakin knocked on Obi-Wan’s door, rubbing at his lips just in case there was anything to make him look less insincere. (And Anakin _was_ sorry. He actually was.)

Thankfully, Obi-Wan opened the door. The two looked at each other for a second before Obi-Wan shook his head. “If you’re here to ask me to help you find your lightsaber again—”

“I’m not!” Anakin interrupted. “I’m here to apologize.”

Obi-Wan lifted an eyebrow. “Apologize.”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Anakin said. He gave Obi-Wan a guilty, close-lipped smile. “I’m sorry about interrupting your lesson. And making fun of your said lesson. And also asking you to help me find my lightsaber, even though it was just stuck under my bunk. Like it was the last two times I thought I lost it. Basically, I’m sorry, and I won’t do it again. For a good while, at least.”

Obi-Wan shook his head again. “I wasn’t actually _angry_ with you, Anakin,” he said wearily. “But you realize that when you _interrupt_ , it sets a bad example.”

“I know! I know,” Anakin said hastily. “So I’m sorry. I’ll even help out with lessons—”

“Even if they’re not important?”

“They’re all important,” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan looked at him a moment longer. Then, face softening, he said, “Alright. I accept your apology.”

Anakin grinned. Then, pushing the bag of sweets into Obi-Wan’s hand, he added, “I was gonna give this to you too, by the way. Before you accepted my apology.”

Obi-Wan looked down at the contents and looked back up at Anakin. “Bribery?”

“Maybe?”

Obi-Wan let out a short laugh. Then, jerking his head into the room, he said, “I’m not going to have these all by myself.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Anakin said, following Obi-Wan inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	22. gingerbread house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio builds gingerbread houses.

“It’s gonna break.”

“It’s not gonna break!”

“I’m basically a genius in engineering, and I’m telling you right now—that’s gonna break.”

A snapping sound later, and Obi-Wan heard Ahsoka groan in frustration.

“See? I _told_ you—”

“It only broke because you were _staring_ at it!”

“Your gingerbread house can’t break just because I was _staring_ at it—that’s not how it _works_ —”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, shoving the bowl of frosting, “why don’t you just work on your own?”

“I was just trying to _help_ ,” Anakin muttered, shooting Ahsoka an annoyed look, but he took the frosting anyways. Obi-Wan was glad for the silence that settled a few moments later, mostly because the two had been bickering for what felt like hours on end. Frankly, Obi-Wan hadn’t even been sure that this _build a gingerbread house_ activity would be a good idea, but it had been suggested to him by Padmé as something to distract them in their longer hours. So there they were, sitting around the kitchen table and creating a general mess.

Obi-Wan was actually finding making the whole process rather difficult—he didn’t think it would be, but his hands were annoyingly sticky with frosting.

“See?” Ahsoka said triumphantly, leaning back in her chair. “It didn’t break this time.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin both looked at Ahsoka’s little gingerbread house which, despite being slightly slanted, was indeed whole.

“Well done,” Obi-Wan commented.

“It’s gonna fall over,” Anakin said.

“ _You’re_ gonna fall over.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, _you_ —”

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan interrupted, “would you like to help me with mine?”

Ahsoka’s face brightened. “Of course,” she said cheerfully, making her way to Obi-Wan’s side. With a pointed look at Anakin, she said, “ _See_ , Master? _Someone_ here appreciates my gingerbread-house-making-skills.”

Anakin rolled his eyes, but there were no more criticisms after that.

In the end, Obi-Wan’s gingerbread house came out a little slanted as well. But he liked it well enough.

And also in the end, Anakin’s gingerbread house oddly came out the neatest out of all three of them, although Obi-Wan and Ahsoka pointedly ignored all of Anakin’s gloating for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	23. mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin surprises Padme with one last bit of decor.

After nearly two hours of decorating, Padmé was ready to sit down and take a nap. She looked around the senate atrium, not bothering to hide her smile as she registered the twinkling lights and the wreaths, the artificial snow that drifted lightly down from the ceiling. They wouldn’t even make a mess when they melted—something that Padmé was particularly proud of finding when she and the others had looked for the right decorations.

A low whistle startled Padmé out of her reverie. But she knew that whistle, and she knew the light laugh that followed afterwards, and when she turned around, Anakin was already right behind her.

“You have to stop sneaking up on me like that,” Padmé said, glancing over Anakin’s shoulder. To her relief, no one was there—she _knew_ no one would be here, because she had specifically requested for this part of the Senate Building to be cleared out, but still, it didn’t hurt to at least be a little careful.

“And ruin the surprise?” Anakin asked, wrapping an arm around Padmé’s waist. He looked up at the decorations, his eyes wide. “Looks great.”

“Well,” Padmé said, leaning a little into Anakin, “I was in charge, wasn’t I?”

“Of course,” Anakin said, tipping his head towards her. He looked back up and narrowed his eyes. “But I think you missed something.”

Padmé frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you see…it’s kind of hard to tell from here, but…” Anakin tugged Padmé backwards, and she let herself fall back a few steps.

“Anakin—”

“Okay, we’re good,” Anakin said. He pointed up. “See? Missed a spot.”

Padmé looked up.

“How’d you get the mistletoe?” she asked, stunned. The little plant dangled above their heads, all green leaves and white berries.

“Asked around, obviously,” Anakin replied. “And I heard about this cool thing that people do under the mistletoe, too…you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Senator?”

Padmé looked at Anakin. He was smiling down at her, and in that one moment, he looked almost shy.

Padmé smiled back. “I think I might know a thing or two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, i had to do it. 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	24. eggnog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex, Anakin, and eggnog.

Rex found himself looking into a glass full of frothy white liquid. He spun the cinnamon stick around in the drink, glanced around the room. A few politicians were scattered around the area, some of whom Rex recognized even with their costumes and their masks, but there were some that Rex was fairly certain were actually underworld criminals.

“Nervous?”

Rex didn’t bother turning his head. He took a sip from his glass and said, “Not entirely.”

“Well, you look nervous,” Anakin replied. He was masked, like everyone else in this room, but Rex could make out his general’s slight smile as he lifted his own glass. Filled with the same frothy white stuff. Only small sips, though, Rex noticed.

“Drinking on the job, sir?” Rex asked, looking down at the glass.

“We’d look suspicious if we didn’t,” Anakin said. “Don’t worry—I hate this stuff anyways.”

“It’s not so bad,” Rex commented, but he, too, was careful to only take small sips. It was warm, smelled of wintery, woodsy spices. Creamier than Rex would have liked, but not so creamy as to hide the alcohol. “Fancy though.”

“They tend to be at these kinds of events,” Anakin noted.

They both watched the politicians and the businessmen and the crooks for a little while longer before Rex asked, “And you’ve…had this before?”

“Eggnog?” Anakin grimaced. “Sure. A few times.”

“Not the biggest fan?”

“Not really.” Anakin took another sip, grimaced. “But we have to blend in _some_ how.”

Rex nodded in agreement. Or, at least, they just had to stay blended in until Ahsoka got whatever it was out of the office of the person hosting this event.

“Would you prefer something else?” Rex asked. He looked around the room, where waiters and waitresses were silver trays of drinks.

“Nah,” Anakin replied. “This is the best it’s gonna get. But if you want something else…”

“No,” Rex said quickly. “I’m fine with this.”

Anakin nodded. He leaned back against the column, twirling the cinnamon stick in between his fingers. “Actually,” he said after a while, “there’s this one drink that I sometimes had as a kid.”

Rex blinked. He looked at Anakin, whose expression Rex couldn’t see under the mask. But Anakin didn’t mention too much of his childhood—Rex had never asked, and Anakin never shared.

Rex waited.

“It’s better than this stuff, that’s for sure,” Anakin said, tilting his head down at the glass.

“Can you find it somewhere?”

“Nah,” Anakin repeated. “You have to make it.”

More silence. Rex and Anakin both shifted away to avoid being jostled by a tipsy politician.

“You ever think about making it?” Rex asked.

Another pause, and Rex wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have bothered asking that, but then Anakin said, “Maybe.” Anakin lifted the glass to his lips. “You in?”

“Help you make something better than eggnog?” Rex asked, setting down his glass on a passing waiter’s tray. “Count me in.”

Anakin smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably more bittersweet than anything else, but hello, best part of being undercover at a party is probably talking smack about mediocre eggnog? I guess? (I say this acting like I’ve had mediocre eggnog while being undercover at a party...) 
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	25. gift shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Padme and Ahsoka go gift shopping.

“I don’t really know what we’re actually looking for,” Ahsoka said, walking in between the stands. “I mean…” She picked up a snow globe, shook it around a few times. She watched the white flakes float down around a pair of droids. “It’s cute, but none of these really scream… _Anakin_ , you know? Or Master Kenobi, for that matter. Or Rex. Or Master Plo. Or…”

“One at a time,” Padmé said, lowering Ahsoka’s hand. “We’ll find something.”

“I know,” Ahsoka said, following Padmé deeper into the market. “But all of this stuff is so…” She sighed, looked to Padmé. “How are _you_ able to find gifts?”

“You just have to pay attention to what people like,” Padmé said. “What they care about.” She smiled at Ahsoka. “And you know more about that than you’re giving yourself credit for.”

Ahsoka sighed. She looked around the stands. What she mostly saw were just trinkets, little toys that younglings would probably like more than her masters or her friends. She picked up a tiny mallet and considered maybe giving _that_ to Anakin—as a joke.

She smiled a little. Maybe.

She walked after Padmé, brushing between rows of scarves and sweaters that were all shades of holiday colors. At one point, Padmé drifted to the other end of the stand, while Ahsoka found a scarf that Obi-Wan might like. A pair of gloves for Plo Koon. A warm hat that Rex might actually wear. Ahsoka even found the old remains of a droid that she figured her master might like better than a toy mallet.

Ahsoka pushed all the items to the stand owners, and she was waiting for the final price to be given when Padmé cleared her throat.

Ahsoka turned around to find a—

“I thought this necklace might go well with your outfit,” Padmé said, smiling. Ahsoka looked down, found the band of gold and the delicate yellow stone at the center.

“Padmé…” Ahsoka blinked. “You didn’t have…”

“You already changed your outfit,” Padmé said, holding up the necklace. “I figured the Order’s most fashionable Jedi might need an accessory.”

Ahsoka smiled. “I…” She looked down at the necklace. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Padmé made a twirling motion with her finger. “Well? Turn around—let me put this on for you.”

Ahsoka nodded. She turned around, and a moment later, Padmé had secured the necklace around her throat.

Ahsoka reached up, touched the little stone at the center.

“Happy Life Day, Ahsoka,” Padmé said.

Ahsoka grinned. “Happy Life Day, Padmé.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated! Merry Christmas!


	26. napping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio naps.

“I’m never gonna move,” Anakin mumbled, dropping onto the couch. “Wake me up in ten years.”

“You shouldn’t lie down after eating,” Obi-Wan said, though Anakin noticed the slightest of slurs in his former master’s voice. When Anakin opened his eyes, he found Obi-Wan’s eyes partially closed, head tilted back against the couch seat.

“If I get indigestion, then I get indigestion,” Anakin replied, closing his eyes. He yawned, draping a hand over his stomach. “I think I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be fine, but I’m not,” Ahsoka said. Anakin shifted a little as Ahsoka dropped down next to him. A moment later, he felt her feet poke against his legs as a silent request to move over. Anakin grumbled a little bit, but he eventually moved. “I don’t think I’ve eaten that much food before. ‘s good though…”

“It was a nice dinner,” Obi-Wan commented, his voice heavier than before.

“Mm. Better than ration bars,” Anakin agreed. He stretched his arms out, knocking against both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. Neither of his friends protested though—they were too tired.

Anakin rolled over on his side, kicking at Ahsoka’s legs again.

Ahsoka kicked back, but lightly.

“We should go to bed,” Obi-Wan mumbled.

“Yeah,” Anakin said. Tried to say. His voice came out muffled against the couch seat.

No one moved.

“But later,” Ahsoka said.

“Later,” Obi-Wan and Anakin agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	27. home early

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan and Anakin come home early.

Ahsoka was mostly fine with being alone over the holidays. She was supposed to be resting in the Halls of Healing after the last mishap, and while she knew she should be grateful for the rest, she found that she was more restless than anything else. Ahsoka spent some time with the younglings, made a few calls to Master Plo before he went off to his own missions—back to the front.

So right now, Ahsoka was lonely. She watched snow drift down from the sky, gathered her knees up to her chest and watched the sun slowly set. She could visit Senator Amidala maybe, but she didn’t want to bother her at this hour…especially now that the Senate seemed to be in a busier time than ever these days.

Ahsoka rested her chin on her knees. More than anything, she just didn’t want to be bored and alone. Resting wasn’t any fun when there was no one else around.

Ahsoka heard someone clear a throat behind her, and she turned around to find two familiar faces waiting by the door.

“You guys are back!” Ahsoka said, practically jumping off the bed. She grinned as Obi-Wan and Anakin reached her side first, probably in an effort to keep her from running, but she didn’t really care. “I thought you guys wouldn’t be back for another few weeks!”

“We got finished early,” Anakin said loftily. “Because you know…best generals and all that.”

Ahsoka laughed as Obi-Wan shot Anakin a semi-exasperated look. But all the same time, Obi-Wan looked glad when he re-focused on Ahsoka. “We were allowed to come home earlier,” he explained, folding his hands behind his back. Judging by the way her grandmaster smiled, though, Ahsoka couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps there were more reasons for why the two were back so early.

 _Home_.

Ahsoka beamed. “I’m glad,” she said, and the three walked out of the halls to actually celebrate the holidays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	28. elf on the shelf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Rex are convinced that the elf on the shelf is watching them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw// creepy dolls

“It’s watching us.”

“It’s not watching us,” Rex said, not bothering to look up from the datapad. He heard Anakin walk around the room, pause.

“It’s definitely watching us,” Anakin said. “Years of Jedi training, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that that _thing_ is linked to some security camera.”

“I’m sure General Kenobi wouldn’t link that doll to a security camera,” Rex said, narrowing his eyes at the report before him. _Fives did what—_

“No, I’m pretty sure he would,” Anakin said, drumming his fingers against the wall. “Maybe if I took the doll apart…pretty sure if I popped out its eyes—”

Rex looked up to find Anakin reaching for the doll that Obi-Wan had specifically placed on top of the shelf of the office. “General, I don’t think—”

“See?” Anakin said triumphantly, holding up the doll. “Just look at it!” He shook the doll a little in Rex’s face, and although the captain was aware of just how strange the two must have looked to the casual outside observer, he _did_ have to admit that the doll was…disturbing. Pointed ears, a slightly too-wide grin, and the black, soulless eyes that didn’t really seem to be looking at anything.

“Yes, General,” Rex managed, pushing the doll away. “I see it.”

“Look,” Anakin said again, holding up the doll next to himself. “Okay? Its eyes are _following_ us.”

To prove his point, Anakin turned away, whipped his head back around to jab a finger at the doll’s face. “See? It totally moved its eyes.”

“I didn’t see anything, sir.”

Anakin let out an annoyed sigh, dropping the doll onto the desk so that it would be facing Rex. “You think I’m being paranoid.”

“Just a bit, sir.” Rex stood up, turning the data pad over in his hands. “Where’s the charging port?”

“Right here,” Anakin said, stepping aside. As Rex settled down to plug the data pad in, Anakin continued, “You know, I don’t even think that Obi-Wan actually _got_ that thing anywhere. I’m pretty sure he found it in a junkyard. Full of other abandoned creepy things.”

“General Kenobi doesn’t strike me as the type of person to collect…strange things,” Rex said, looking down at the red light flickering on the datapad.

“Well, he _doesn’t_ , but everyone picks up weird hobbies,” Anakin said.

“Do you?” Rex asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Sure,” Anakin said seriously. “But that’s classified.”

“Of course,” Rex said, nodding in what he hoped was just as serious a manner—but as he did, he caught something behind Anakin. Standing up quickly, Rex said, “Sir?”

“What?”

Rex pointed behind Anakin. “Pretty sure the doll was faced the other way when you put it on my desk, right?”

Anakin turned around.

The doll was facing them now.

“Huh,” Anakin said in a small voice. “Okay.”

They looked at each other and quickly backed out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably more creepy than holiday-ish, but i have a friend who’s terrified of dolls and who unfortunately grew up with an elf on the shelf, and i was entertained by a story she told me about how she was pretty sure the elf on the shelf was watching her. 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	29. shoveling snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan and Anakin try to shovel snow in peace.

Obi-Wan was starting to think that Anakin was cheating with the snow shoveling, because there was no way that his former apprentice could clear out three meters of snow in the span of ten seconds.

“I thought I told you to be discreet?” Obi-Wan muttered, hoisting a shovel’s worth of snow out to the outer banks. He glanced once over their shoulders, where the other villagers were thankfully keeping to their own tasks.

“I _am_ being discreet,” Anakin replied, but the little waver at the end of his voice told Obi-Wan that his guess had been right.

“I know it’s tempting,” Obi-Wan said quietly, digging his shovel into the snow, “but you can’t use the Force to clear out the snow. The others will be suspicious.”

“No, they’ll be impressed—”

“So impressed that they’ll call the nearest Separatist base,” Obi-Wan replied, nodding to the next stretch of snow in front of them.

Anakin sighed. “It’s just a _lot_ ,” he said, digging his shovel into the snow. “And it’s _cold_.”

“Yes, you would almost think we’re on a planet that regularly snows,” Obi-Wan said.

A moment later, Obi-Wan felt something _cold_ dump on his back, and when he spun around, Anakin was already going back to shoveling the snow.

Obi-Wan waited exactly thirty seconds before dumping his own shovel’s worth of snow on Anakin’s back.

The shout of surprise that came after was mildly worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	30. constellations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex and Ahsoka find constellations on a cold winter night.

“Can’t sleep?”

Ahsoka turned around and shrugged. “No,” she replied. “You?”

Rex shook his head.

Ahsoka shifted over on the log, waited for Rex to sit down. When he did, they both sighed.

Ahsoka buried herself a little deeper into her cloak. She could see her own breath. She could see Rex’s, too. They were both quiet—mostly because they were tired. Just the aftermath of another day, another battle, and neither of them particularly felt like talking. There were sometimes nights like these.

Ahsoka tilted her head up to the sky. Reinforcements would come down later tomorrow—or maybe it was already tomorrow, and the reinforcements would just come down today instead—but for now, the only thing Ahsoka could see were the stars.

“It’s clear,” she said.

“Hm?”

Ahsoka pointed to the sky. “Colder nights are always clearer,” she said. “So you can see more stars. You ever noticed that?”

Rex looked up at the sky too. “Yeah,” he said after a while. “Just didn’t notice.”

“You didn’t?”

“Been a little occupied.”

Ahsoka dropped her hand on her lap. “Guess so.”

Another pause, and then Rex asked, “You know any of the constellations here, kid?”

“No,” Ahsoka said ruefully. She tilted her head to the side, following the bright stars with a thumb. “But if you tilt your head a little, that one probably looks like a speeder.” She lifted her eyes higher, to another cluster of stars. “And that one kinda looks like…your helmet?”

Rex let out a short laugh. “Can’t really see it.”

“Well, _I_ think it does,” Ahsoka said. She closed one of her eyes. “Yeah, I think it looks like your helmet. So we’ll call that constellation the Rex constellation.”

“I’m sure that the natives here have another name.”

“Maybe,” Ahsoka said, dropping her hand back down on her lap. “But I kinda like the Rex constellation a little better.”

A silence passed before Rex said, “Well, let’s find an Ahsoka constellation then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, I hope this was somewhat related enough to winter? 
> 
> As always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


	31. new year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the TCW fam greets the new year.

“Another year gone,” Obi-Wan mused.

“Feeling sentimental, old man?”

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin. “Only the slightest. Aren’t you?”

Anakin grinned. “Maybe.”

“Well, _I’m_ glad the year’s over,” Ahsoka said, pointedly flopping down onto the couch between Anakin and Obi-Wan. She didn’t drink champagne like the actual adults—Padmé had given her sparkling apple cider, which was fine, and Ahsoka had mostly just watched in mild amusement as everyone’s faces grew steadily more flushed, voices more relaxed.

“Who’s glad the year’s over?” Padmé asked. She came over with Rex, who was less flushed than the others, but still more…smiley. Ahsoka made mental note to take pictures later.

“Everyone, I think,” Ahsoka said, making herself smaller so that everyone could fit on the couch. That wasn’t really necessary though—the couch was big enough for the five of them. Ahsoka was warm all over, and not just because she was surrounded.

She became more aware of everything else around her, too. Next to her, Anakin and Obi-Wan shifting a little for Rex and Padmé. In front of her, the fire flickering red and orange. Above her somewhere, the faintest buzz of the lights. Outside, the dull roar of people counting down the seconds until the new year officially arrived.

_Ten…nine…eight…_

Ahsoka closed her eyes. Another year gone.

She was sixteen years old right now. In the next few months, she would be seventeen. She would have been fighting in a war for nearly three years.

She supposed she should be bitter about that. She knew some of her friends were.

_Seven…six…five…_

Ahsoka opened her eyes, looked at the people around her. She wondered if they felt the same.

_Four…three…two…_

The world outside exploded in fireworks and confetti and music. Voices—thousands on top of thousands on top of thousands—ringing over the city, carrying a song that Ahsoka recognized from past years. Drawn to the sudden excitement, Ahsoka jumped up from the couch.

“Guys,” she said, looking out over the balcony, “look!”

A few moments later, she felt her friends gather around her. They looked out over the city, all bright lights and brighter colors. Above all the fireworks, Ahsoka could hear the shouts of triumph from everyone else on the planet— _happy new year!_ Another year gone, another year worth beginning.

Ahsoka smiled, resting her arms around Obi-Wan and Anakin’s shoulders. She heard huffs of laughter around herself, but she knew they didn’t mind.

Another year gone, another year beginning.

Ahsoka looked at the fireworks.

She couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we are! 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for sticking around with this story! 
> 
> I know that this year was really hard for all of us—and while this year’s problems won’t be magically fixed in a day, I hope that things will at least get better for everyone. That said, I wish you all nothing but happiness and healing in this coming year. ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> hello, everyone! welcome to this fic! as per the summary, i'll be updating this little drabble fic daily--all 31 days of december! this chapter covered anakin and obi-wan in pre-aotc days, but y'all can rest assured that the next chapter (and then on) will mostly be focused on tcw-era. (i just thought of "first snow" and my brain went straight to "desert child sees snow" and decided that was that.) 
> 
> as always, comments/kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated!


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